Monsoon rainfall expected to intensify in Kerala
Heads up, Kerala! The weather department has put Kannur and Kasaragod districts on red alert for extremely heavy rainfall this Saturday. Several other districts—including Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Wayanad and Kozhikode—are under orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain. Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram are on yellow alert for isolated heavy rainfall.
Monsoon's early arrival and current situation
IMD says it's all thanks to a cyclonic circulation over north interior Karnataka and a trough stretching out into the Arabian Sea. On top of that, strong winds (up to 60km/h) are expected across Kerala and Lakshadweep from Saturday through Monday. Even though monsoon arrived early this year (May 24), rainfall has actually been way below normal so far in June—down by 65%.